Burnley’s big Hollywood moment

Hollywood’s red carpet was rolled out in Burnley to greet the stars of the eagerly awaited biopic of Dave Fishwick.

The town’s Reel Cinema hosted the world premiere of the Netflix film ‘Bank of Dave’ which centres on the businessman’s crusade against the finance industry.

The feelgood British film, which has now been released globally on the streaming site, stars Bond star Rory Kinnear in the title role and he attended the special showing along with Jo Hartley, who plays Dave’s wife Nicola.

The plot centres on Dave’s life and how he took on the finance industry and battled to open the ‘Bank of Dave’ in Burnley. He gave himself the task to create a bank and send it into profit in 180 days.

The premiere attracted major media attention and Dave said he was delighted with the focus the movie had placed on Burnley, with parts of the film shot in and around the town at locations including the market, railway and bus stations and the football club.

Dave, who arrived at the premiere in a ‘Bank of Dave’ minibus, said: “It’s so exciting. I’ve just come through Burnley in the battle bus and there’s people waving and shouting. What a nice thing.”

He said he was pleased at the way locations in Burnley had been used in the film so people could get a “real feel of the town”.

And he revealed how Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor, who also appears in the film, had arrived from Los Angeles to start filming and found herself in Burnley market sharing a ‘chip butty’ with him.
He said: “I told her you’re living the dream now and Rory, from Bond to Burnley, it doesn’t get any better than that!”

On a more serious note, Dave said: “Ultimately, we want people to be inspired by the film.

“If a lad from Burnley who sells buses and left school with absolutely nothing can be building a bank, anybody can do anything and that’s the message.”

Award-winning actor Rory Kinnear, said that he “loved the message” of the story and added: “We couldn’t have had the premiere anywhere else, absolutely not.”

He said: “The message is you have to look out for your community and those people around you, particularly if you’ve had a bit of luck in your life.”

Rory believes the film will resonate with a global audience. He said: “There’s a Burnley in the US, it is about local communities.”